To no one’s surprise, 2020 was an incredible year for reading and books! I was home more than I ever thought possible, and reading has always been a little escape and enjoyable outlet for me. When the news was too much or my mind wouldn’t stop wandering, I turned to books – an ever-present solace and happy place for me. I managed to read 70+ books this year, and goodness, were there some truly exceptional books that I read. It’s always hard to narrow down my very favorites from the year, as there are so many great books out there! My library queue is already full of books that I want to read in 2021, and here’s a look back at some 2020 reads:

my top 5 favorite books of 2020:

• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall
• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• Delicious! by Ruth Reichl

Other wonderful, notable books from 2020 that I loved:

• The Scent Keeper
• Just Mercy
• I’m Still Here
• The Long Petal of the Sea
• The Vanishing Half
• Transcendent Kingdom
• The Evening and the Morning
• All Adults Here
• A Good Neighborhood
• In Five Years
• The Gown
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• The Huntress
• The Henna Artist
• Americanah
• Lost Roses
• When Less Becomes More
• Such a Fun Age
• Evie Drake Starts Over
• Big Summer
• Building a Story Brand
• None Like Him
• Nobody Will Tell You This But Me
• The Mothers
• The Searcher
• The Witch Elm
• Tender at the Bone
• Circling the Sun

I would highly, highly recommend any and all of the above books and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. And can I also give a quick shout-out to the library, even in the midst of a pandemic?! Y’all, I’ve loved the library since I was a little girl (I’ve been an avid reader and library-lover my entire life), and I can’t sing the praises of the public library enough. The online Libby app was such a lifesaver for many months this year when everything was shut down. The fact that you can digitally check out and download books – for free! – was such a gift. Our library opened back up a couple months ago for contactless curbside pickups, and it’s also been so wonderful to have actual books back in my hands (my much preferred method of reading). The library has pivoted and adapted so well. I’ve checked out almost countless books in my lifetime, and there’s such a happy feeling that washes over me the moment I pick up a new book from the library. Free books at your fingertips? Yes, please! If you don’t have a local library card or if you rarely use yours, please do yourself a favor and use it regularly!

One of my other favorite little moments of this year has been sharing my collection of books with friends! It’s like my own little lending library… curating the perfect set of books for dear friends to borrow (especially when the library was closed), pick up from our front porch, and enjoy at their leisure. Such a treat to share and swap books in a safe way!

I’d love to hear: what’s the book that stands out to you most from this past year? Which book was your very favorite recent read? I’d really love to know!

Looking for more on books?! You can read a ton more previous blog posts of mine about books: my favorite books of 2019, my favorite books ever, all things books, let’s talk about books, best books of 2014, best books of 2013, the South’s best books and authors, and plenty more in my blog’s archives!

Affiliate links are used in this post – but can’t sing the praises of shopping from smaller, independent bookstores enough!